A document revealed by The Telegraph appears to show official Russian plans to assassinate the country's enemies living abroad.

In writing that seems to explicitly give permission for the use of deadly force abroad, the document calls for the use of special squads "under special directives" who work for the "elimination outside of the Russian Federation in the countries of Near Abroad [the former Soviet states] and in the European Union, of the leaders of unlawful terrorist groups and organizations, extremist formations and associations, of individuals who have left Russia illegally [and are] wanted by federal law enforcement".

The directive is signed by the head of the KGB's successor group, the FSB, Col General Nechaev, and marked "Secret documentation. For internal use only. Do not copy". It is dated March 19, 2003, and sets a date of May 1 2004 for the new units to begin work.

The recent assassination of 3 Chechen men in Istanbul has led to a number of rumors about the existence of a so-called "Berlin Group" that was behind a number of Europe-wide killings. The document is likely to increase speculation about the group.